Non-perforated nail button

ABSTRACT

A nail button and a method for manufacturing the nail button are disclosed. The nail button consists of a button cap and a base. The base comprises a collet and an attaching means associated with the collet. The collet is characterized in that it is not perforated and in that it comprises a lipped recess in the collet for joining the attaching means to the collet.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention is related to a nail button and a method formanufacturing a nail button. More specifically, this invention involvesa nail button which comprises a nonperforated collet.

Covered nail buttons are used for functional and nonfunctional purposesin the furniture industry. Typically, these nail buttons have been madeusing one of two different methods to form a nail button base assemblycomprising a collet and attaching means. The first method used in theindustry for joining the attaching means and the collet is by staking.Staking simply means that the attaching means, usually a headed nail, isdriven through a hole in the center of the collet. The nail becomeslodged in the hole following the staking operation through friction fitor interference fit.

The second method of joining the attaching means to the collet is byspot welding. In the spot welding method, a nail type attaching meanswith a broad head is inserted into a hole in the collet which is held ina die. The attaching means is then attached to the collet by spotwelding

These two methods have been successfully used for many years to produceperforated nail buttons for industry. However, these methods are notwithout drawbacks. One primary drawback of these methods lies in thenumber of steps required to produce the button base assembly comprisingthe collet and attaching means. A second drawback is the speed in whichthe nail button can be assembled by the two methods above. An additionaldisadvantage lies in the quality of the nail button produced by the twomethods above. Quite often the spot welding or staking procedure resultsin a nail button in which the nail is not fully attached to the colletor which becomes loose upon use. This results in a nail button that mustbe discarded or replaced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of this invention to provide a nail button and a methodfor manufacturing a nail button which utilizes fewer steps in itsmanufacture than are required by prior art nail buttons.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a method forproducing a nail button which may be operated at higher production ratesthan prior art nail button production methods, thus reducing the costsassociated with producing the nail buttons.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide a method formanufacturing a nail button which results in a marked improvement in theoverall number of acceptable nail buttons produced by the method.

Accordingly, a broad embodiment of this invention is a nail button baseassembly consisting of a collet joined to an attaching means. The colletportion of the base assembly is characterized in that it isnon-perforated.

In another embodiment, the nail button of this invention consists of abutton cap and a base assembly. The base assembly consists of a colletjoined to an attaching means. The nail button is characterized in thatthe collet is non-perforated and comprises a lipped recess for joiningthe attaching means to the collet.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a method formanufacturing a nail button. The method comprises the steps of insertingthe end of an attaching means into a lipped recess located essentiallyin the middle of one side of a non-perforated metal collet. Thenon-perforated metal collet with the attaching means inserted into thelipped recess is formed so that the lip of the lipped recess retains theend of the attaching means in the recess. Finally, a button cap isattached to the side of a non-perforated collet opposite that of thelipped recess.

A preferred method for manufacturing a nail button having anon-perforated collet comprises forming a circular metal blank toproduce a collet having a hemispherical center portion containing alipped recess, and a flat peripheral edge. The outwardly tapered flatend of a nail or screw is next inserted into the lipped recess. Thecollet comprising the attaching means inserted into the lipped recess isformed so that the lip of the lipped recess retains the outwardlytapered flat end of the attaching means in the recess. This forming stepalso shapes the peripheral edge of the collet so that it slants upwardlyand outwardly and is capable of accepting the button cap. Finally, thebutton cap is attached to the side of the collet opposite that whichretains the attaching means.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

There is shown in the attached drawing a presently preferred embodimentof the present invention, wherein like numerals in the various viewsrefer to like elements and wherein:

FIG. 1 shows an assembled nail button of this invention.

FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the assembled nail button of thisinvention.

FIGS. 3a and 3b show cross-section views of various embodiments ofassembled nail button base assemblies.

FIG. 4 represents a cross-sectional view of a nail button base assemblyprepared by the prior art staking method.

FIG. 5 represents a cross-sectional view of a nail button base assemblyprepared by the prior art spot welding method.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a nail button and a method of manufacturing thenail button.

FIGS. 4 and 5 represent prior art base assemblies for nail buttons. Thestaked nail button base assembly is shown in FIG. 4. The spot weldednail button base assembly is shown in FIG. 5. Both prior art baseassemblies consist of a perforated collet 30 and an attaching means 32passing through the perforation in the collet. The attaching means 32 isretained in the collet 30 partly due to a flat head end 34 of theattaching means 32 which cannot pass through the perforation in thecollet 30.

The nail button of this invention is better understood by references toFIGS. 1-2 and 3, 3a and 3b. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the nail buttonassembly 10 comprises a decorative material 2 covering a metal cap 4 toform a button cap. The button cap has an inward and downward slantingedge 6. The inward and downward slanting edge 6 of the button capencompasses the upwardly and outwardly slanting peripheral edge 8 of anon-perforated collet 12 to form a nail button assembly 10. Thenon-perforated collet 12 comprises a lipped recess 14 which joins theattaching means 16 to the non-perforated collet 12. The decorativematerial 2 is retained in place over the metal cap 4 by virtue of itsbeing held between the upwardly and outwardly slanting peripheral edge 8of the non-perforated collet 12, and the inward and downward slantingedge 6 of the button cap of the assembled nail button 10.

FIG. 3 is a cross-section view of the preferred base assembly of thisinvention, while FIGS. 3a and 3b are cross-section views of alternativecollet embodiments of the nail button of this invention. FIGS. 3, 3a and3b are not to be interpreted to be the only embodiments of nail buttonbase assemblies of this invention. Various changes can be made to thenail button base assemblies shown in the Figures without departing fromthe invention. Referring to FIG. 3, the base assembly comprises anattaching means 16 joined to a non-perforated collet 12. The attachingmeans 16 has a outwardly tapered end 18. The outwardly tapered end 18 ofthe attaching means 16 has been inserted into a lipped recess 14 in thenon-perforated collet 12. The lipped recess 14 is formed so that itseals the outwardly tapered end 18 of the attaching means 16 in thelipped recess 14 of the non-perforated collet 12. The non-perforatedcollet 12 also comprises upwardly and outwardly slanting peripheral edge8, useful as a site to which the button cap may become attached.

With reference to FIGS. 3a and 3b, there are shown alternatives for thecollet 12 of FIG. 3. The collet 12' of FIG. 3a is like that of FIG. 3.However, the peripheral edge 8 of the collet 12 of FIG. 3 is omitted.The peripheral edge 8' is at an angle with respect to the generallyplanar top of the collet 12' and to the axis of the attaching means 16'.The peripheral edge 8' is constructed and arranged to facilitate theaffixing of a button cap to the collet, if desired. The means foraffixing the attaching means 16 to collet 12' is the same as shown anddescribed with respect to FIG. 3.

In FIG. 3b there is shown another embodiment of collet 12 of FIG. 3.Collet 12" is generally a flat disc that is secured to attaching means16 in the same manner as shown in FIG. 3. The peripheral edge 8" is atan angle with respect to the top of the collet 12" and the axis of theattaching means 16". This construction facilitates the affixing of abutton cap to the collet, if desired. The angle of peripheral edge 8" isabout 45° with respect to the horizontal.

The nail button of this invention is assembled from a button cap and abase assembly. The button cap is typically a metal cap. The metal cap isusually domed-shaped. It is the button cap which an observer sees whenthe nail button is installed. For this reason, it is preferred but notnecessary that the button cap is covered by a decorative material.

The decorative material covering the preferred metal domed-shaped buttoncap may be any material having aesthetic value to an observer Decorativematerials might include for example, fabrics, leather, plastic sheeting,fur, paint, varnish, and other similar materials capable of decorativelycovering the metal button cap.

It should be noted that the button cap used herein is essentially thesame button cap that is used as a piece of the nail buttons madeutilizing the spot welding or staking processes of the prior art.Therefore, while the button cap is not an inventive aspect of theinstant nail button, it is still an important element of the commercialnail button assembly. Any button cap known in the art capable of beingadapted to be attached to the base assembly of the instant nail buttonfalls within the scope of this invention.

The primary element of the nail button of this invention is the baseassembly. The base assembly further comprises an attaching means and acollet. The attaching means and collet are joined to form the baseassembly.

The attaching means is designed to enable the nail button to be attachedto the item it is to decorate. The attaching means will typically be anelongated rod-shaped piece of metal that is preferably pointed on oneend so that it may ultimately penetrate items such as wood, cloth andthe like that the nail button will decorate.

As the term "nail button" infers, the attaching means is preferably athreaded metal nail or a corrugated metal nail. However, the attachingmeans may be a screw, or any other known means capable of attaching thenail button to an object.

The end of the attaching means opposite that of the pointed end maygenerally take on any shape. However, the shape chosen must enable theattaching means to be retained in the lipped recess of thenon-perforated collet. Therefore, it is preferred that the end of theattaching means opposite the pointed end is essentially flat. This endof the attaching means will be referred to hereinafter as the flat end.The flat end allows the attaching means to be placed in the lippedrecess of the non-perforated collet such that the attaching means isgenerally perpendicular in relation to the collet. The collet of thenail button acts like the head of a nail. If the end of the attachingmeans is not flat, then the attaching means might not be joined to thecollet in a perpendicular relationship. This would make the installationof the nail button difficult as the nail button would behave like a bentnail.

It is also preferred that the attaching means have a slight outwardtaper in the region of the flat end. The outward taper facilitates theretention of the attaching means in the lipped recess. During themanufacturing of the instant nail button, the collet is formed to createa lipped recess complementary to the end of the attaching means forretaining the flat end of an attaching means having an outward taper inthe region of the flat end. Once the outwardly tapered flat end of theattaching means is located within the lipped recess of the collet, theassembly is formed a second time to collapse the lips of the lippedrecess around the sides of the attaching means. Because of its outwardtaper, the flat end of the attaching means is now larger in diameterthan the opening of the recess as defined by the collapsed lips of thelipped recess. This difference in diameters ensures that the attachingmeans will not slip out of the lipped recess or become loose during use.

The collet is the heart of the nail button of this invention. The colletof the instant nail button has two functions. First it provides a stablesite to which the attaching means is located. Second, the colletprovides a seat to which the button cap is attached.

As previously mentioned, the collet of this invention is characterizedin that it is non-perforated. That is to say the collet comprises arecess, but the recess does not extend completely through the collet toform a hole or perforation as required of the prior art button capcollets made by either staking or spot welding methods. This aspect ofthe collet allows the base assembly of the instant nail button to bemanufactured on high speed nail making equipment. This method ofmanufacturing the base results in a higher base production rate withimproved base quality control.

In a preferred method for manufacturing, the collet begins its existenceas a round metal blank. The blank is formed, for example by coining, ina first forming step to produce an intermediate collet which comprises ahemispherical center portion with a lipped recess underneath thehemispherical center portion, and a flat peripheral edge. At this pointthe outwardly tapered flat end of an attaching means is inserted intothe lipped recess. The intermediate collet is next subjected to a secondforming step. In the second forming step, three collet modifications mayoccur. First the lip of the lipped recess must be collapsed around theouter dimension of the attaching means. Second, the hemispherical centerportion of the collet may be flattened. Finally, the peripheral edge ofthe collet may be slanted upward with an outward slope. It is preferredthat all three collet modifications occur during the second formingstep. This would minimize at two the number of steps required to makethe instant nail button base. Alternatively, the first and second colletmodifications could occur during the second forming step with the finalcollet modification occurring during a third forming step, or evenduring the first forming step.

The base assembly, produced as described above, has an attaching meansfirmly joined to the collet. The peripheral edge of the collet has alsobeen modified to provide a site at which the button cap may be united tothe base during nail button assembly. The modification of the colletperipheral edge may take on any form known which allows two pieces ofmetal to be united. Generally, the button cap will be slightly wider indiameter than the collet. This allows the button cap to be united withthe collet.

The peripheral edge of the collet is preferably sloped upwardly andoutwardly to provide a site at which the collet can unite with thebutton cap peripheral edge which preferably has a downward and inwardprojecting sidewall in assembled relationship. The button cap is unitedwith the collet to cover the side of the collet opposite the sidecontaining the attaching means. The nail button is fully assembled oncethe downward projecting sidewall of the button cap is inwardly unitedwith the upwardly and outwardly slanting peripheral edge of the colletportion of the base.

The final assembly step of the instant nail button typically comprisesuniting the button cap and the base. This is preferably accomplished bydesigning the collet peripheral edge and button peripheral cap edge sothat they can be united by a die. It is further preferred that thedecorative material is secured to the button cap during this finalassembly step.

The button cap, with or without a decorative material covering, may beunited with the collet portion of the base assembly to produce a nailbutton by any means known in the art, including by hand, by automaticmachinery, and by manual machinery. It is preferred that the button capof the nail button have a decorative material covering, and it is alsopreferred that the nail button be manufactured in an automated machinecomprising an upper and bottom die cooperative with one another.

To assemble a nail button covered by a decorative fabric using thepreferred automated method, a decorative material is placed over thebutton cap in an upper die. The decorative material is wrapped into thebutton cap by die action as the top post of the upper die moves downwithin the upper die collar towards the bottom die. The bottom dieserves two functions First, it curls the decorative material inward sothat it becomes trapped between the collet and button cap. Second, thebottom die is tapered outwards to force the vertical walls of the buttoncap to become projected inwards and downwards around the upwardly andoutwardly slanting wall of the collet. The shaping of the outer wall ofthe button cap occurs as the button cap is forced by the top post of theupper die towards the collet held by the bottom die as a result of thedownward movement of the upper die. This final button cap wall shapingaction succeeds in securing the button cap to the collet to create thenail button product.

While a presently preferred embodiment of the invention has been shownand described, it is apparent that various changes and modifications maybe made therein without departing from the invention. Therefore, it isintended in the appended claims to cover all changes and modificationsas fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A nail button consisting of a metal button caphaving an inward and downward slanting edge, a base assembly, anddecorative material, the base assembly consisting of an attaching meanshaving an outwardly tapered flat end, and a non-perforated metal collethaving a lipped recess which retains the tapered flat end of theattaching means, the non-perforated metal collect further having anupwardly and outwardly slanting peripheral edge, the inwardly anddownwardly slanting edge of the metal button cap being attached to saidperipheral edge, the decorative material covering the metal button capand being held between the peripheral slanting edge of the collet andedge of the metal button cap.
 2. The nail button of claim 15 furthercharacterized in that the attaching means is a nail or screw.